Stung by the Iranian and Israeli attacks during the recent 12-day war, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) on Tuesday have decided to come up with a joint defensive air shield. GCC Secretary General Jasem Al Budaiwi made the announcement as the GCC gears up for the 46th summit to be held in Bahrain.
This comes as Qatar was attacked by both Iran and Israel during the recent conflict. While Iran launched missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, in retaliation for the United States' strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Al Budaiwi hinted that the plan will soon reach completion. “What matters most, and what we hope to complete, is the joint defence shield that we are working on with our partners. There are technical matters involved, but God willing, we will reach this goal in the near future,” he told reporters.
The attacks and the Middle East tensions had prompted the GCC countries to rework their defence strategies. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar poured billions into rapid-response forces, cutting-edge tech, and future-proof deterrence.
The GCC has earlier too demonstrated an interest in collective defence and security, including in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. In the 1990s, Sultan Qaboos of Oman proposed creating a standing army of 100,000 troops, but withdrew the proposal due to the ongoing lack of agreement.
Earlier, there were reports that the UAE was closely following Turkey’s technological developments in air defence, especially since it unveiled its integrated air-defense system, Steel Dome.
